Pill holder construction



Feb. 20, 1962 Filed July 22, 1958 C. SALADINO PILL HOLDER CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- CHAQLEs Sauacndo ATTOEMEYS Feb. 20, 1962 c. SALADINO 3,021,986

PILL HOLDER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 22, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5 as 50a. 46 Fl G. 6 45 1:: 3 INVENTOR.

5'! CHAQLES SALADIHO A BY AT TO 2M EYS United States Patent 9 3,021,986 PILL HOLDER CONSTRUCTION Charles Saladino, 500 S. Illinois St., Mercedes, Tex. Filed July 22, 1958, Ser. No. 750,165 2 Claims. (Cl. 224-26) The present invention relates to a pill holder construction.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a pill holder construction which is designed so that it will be a part of or intimately associated with such regularly used part of wearing apparel, for the purpose of rendering the holder immediately available.

For example, persons having heart trouble find it essential and necessary to carry a supply of nitroglycerin pills, digitalis or the like pills on their person at all times. It is essential, for these individuals, that the pills be immediately at hand, when needed, and that the pills be available and easily accessible. When the pills are maintained in a conventional dispenser, medicinal bottle or case, it is necessary that they be it is understandable that they and it is further understandable that it is often difficult to reach into the extremities of the pocket and extract the container and then remove the cap for the purpose of extracting a pill in sufiicient time to permit the pill to be of use in the event of a sudden attack.

The primary aim and purpose of the present invention is to provide a pill holder construction including a support adapted to be worn at a readily accessible place over the apparel of a person so that the pills or tablets are necessarily carried and cannot be forgotten and so that the pills are immediately available and accessible in the event of a sudden attack.

In accordance with the present invention, the support adapted to be worn at a readily accessible place on the apparel of a person is a belt buckle which is only slightly modified and such modification does not entail any extensive changes in the belt buckle to the extent that the belt buckle no longer is of conventional size, shape or utility. The belt buckle is modified by providing one of the cross bars as the pill container, the cross bar being formed of a hollow nature and having means for accommodating the pills in superimposed fashion and further having means for moving the pills in one-by-one order from the cross bar and having closure means for retaining the pills in neat and hygienic order.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination belt buckle and pill holder which is designed so as to combine the functions of a belt buckle and a pill holder, without any sacrifice of the use and utility of either.

The foregoing and ancillary objects are attained by this invention, the preferred embodiments of which are set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of one form of belt buckle, provided in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view, on the same scale as FIGURE 2, taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, partially exploded, showing the closure member in an open position and showing the spring and spring follower removed from the container, which elements serve to lift or raise the pills in one-by-one fashion from the belt buckle;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of a modified form of combined belt buckle and pill holder;

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view, with parts carried in the pocket and can be easily forgotten constituting a closure portion, at one broken away and in section, of the modified form of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of a further form of combined belt buckle and pill holder;

FIGURE 8 is a front elevational view of the form of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a view in perspective of the pill holder portion of the belt buckle of FIGURE 8, with the closure member shown in an open position; and,

IGURE 10 is a sectional view of the pill holder container portion of the belt buckle of FIGURE 8 and taken substantially on line 1il10 of FIGURE 8.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings and initially to FlGURES l to 4, the pill holder construction of the present invention comprises a support adapted to be worn at a readily accessible place on the apparel of a person or a belt buckle 10, the belt buckle having an inner cross bar 12 which is located at the inner end of the buckle, that is, at the end of the buckle attached to the flexible or strap portion of the belt. The bar 12 carries a swingable or movable tongue 14, which may be formed from suitable wire material and which has an outwardly offset distal end 15. The proximal end of the tongue 14 is formed with a closed loop or hearing end 16, which is loosely and pivotally disposed on the bar 12, so that the tongue 14 may swing or pivot upon the bar in the usual manner.

The strap member 18 of the belt is formed with the usual loop 20 at one end, the loop 29 being notched at 21 intermediate the opposite longitudinal edges of the strap member of the belt so as to receive the loop 16 of the opposing ends of a cylindrical, hollow, outer cross bar 24.

The cross bar 24 is provided so that when the belt is in use, the tongue 14 will have its offset distal end 15 in engagement therewith.

The top bar 22 is formed with an opening 26, which is in registry with and in full communication with the bore of the tubular or hollow cross bar 24, as clearly shown in FIGURE 2. It is to be noted, at this point, that apart from the tubular or hollow cross bar 24, the belt buckle is of substantially conventional construction, with the tubular cross bar 24 forming an important part of the present invention in that it serves as a housing for the pills.

In this connection, a compression coil spring 28 is disposed within the bore of the cross member 24, one end of the spring bearing against the bottom bar 23, which closes the cross member 24 at the lower end thereof. The opposing end of the spring 28 carries a disc or follower member 29, the diameter of which is slightly less than that of the bore of the cross bar 24.

Since the cross bar 24 serves as a receptacle or container for pills, the follower member is provided to urge the pills 30 in one-by-one fashion from the tubular cross member 24, which functions as a container or receptacle for the pills. The pills 30 are disposed between the follower 29 and a slidable cap 32. The slidable cap or closure member 32 has a sleeve portion which is of a crosssection such as to cause the sleeve portion to embrace and slide upon the top bar 22. A piece of metal or similar material may be bent about the bar 22, as shown in FIG- URE 3, to provide the tubular or sleeve portion of the cap and engage the same slidably with the top bar 22.

The sleeve portion of the cap 32 has a projection 34, end of the sleeve portion. The projection 34 is in face-to-face sliding contact with the top surface of the top bar 32 and is so di- 'mensioned and proportioned as to close the opening 26 a when the cap is in its normal or closed position, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 To load the container or receptacle, which is constituted by the cross bar 24, it is only necessary to open the closure member and then to press a number of pills into the cross bar 24, through the opening 26, with the insertion of each pill causing a further compression of the spring 28. When a supply of pills, as shown in FIGURE 2, is wholly confined within the cross bar 24, the cap 32 is moved to a closed position, as shown in FIGURE 2.

To dispense the pills, it is only necessary that the thumb or finger of a user be inserted over the opening 26 so as to move the cap 32 to the open position, as shown in 7 FIGURE 4. The thumb or way as to insure against loss out of the opening 26 under 28, which is free to expand. A single pill may be removed or, if desired, more than one pill may be removed. When a suificient number of pills has been removed, the cap is slid to its closed position. 7 A suitable marking can be placed on the slide 32 or upon the top bar 22 to indicate that the wearer of the belt buckle is required to take pills which are housed or confined within the receptacle forming member 24. One could, for example, show a representation of a heart upon the cap 32 or upon the bar 22, in a distinctive color. Thus, over a period of time by suitable publicity, it may be possible to educate the public that the presence of this marking upon the belt buckle indicates that the wearer suffers from a heart condition and 'is required, particularly if in the stage of a sudden attack, to take a pill that will be found within the belt buckle. Thus, those suffering from heart ailments can obtain help from strangers unfamiliar with their condition.

Obviously, under all normal circumstances, the belt is used in its regular manner and it is to be noted that the cap 32'can be moved to and from its normally closed position without requirement of opening the belt or withoutany interference in the normal function of'the belt buckle so far as securing the belt in its normal position.

A modified form of pill holder construction is shown in FIGURES -6, wherein the belt buckle 35 includes the conventional open rectangular or loop-shaped body portion 36 having the integrally associated cross bars 37 and 38 and the'top and bottom bars 39 and 40. The tongue 41 is pivotally carried by the inner cross bar 37 and such cross bar is secured to the loop 36 of the one end of the belt, which belt is provided with the opposing apertured end 42. The apertures in the end 42 are adapted to be engaged by the distal end of the tongue 41 incompleting the function ofthe belt.

. As an additional fe ture ofconstruction for the purposes of the present invention, the belt buckle 35 is provided with a tubular housing 43, which is disposed between the top and bottom bars 39 and and which may present a suitably ornamented outer face 44 for decorative purposes. The tubular housing 43 is formed with a closed bottom43 'and an open top 43", such bottom and top beingdesignated with respect to the position of 'use of the belt buckle. Slidably disposed within the tubular housing 43 is a tray lS- which isformed with a crosssectional shape complementary to the internal crosssectional shape of the tubular housing 43. The tray 45 has an open front and is constituted by a back 46, opposing side walls 47 and 48, a top wall 50, and a bottom wall The internal area of the tray 45 is such as to support finger is placed in such a of pills as they are moved the pressure of the spring 7 a plurality of medicinal tablets in linear edge-.to-edge relation. Tablets 49 are disposed in linear edge-to-edge relatibnwithin the tray 45, shown in FIGURE-6, and held intact and in place by the back 46 and'the opposing side walls 47 and 48.

It is to be noted that the top wall 50 of the tray 45 for the dispensing of the pills and 4 functions as a closure for the open upper end of the tubular housing 43, when the tray is in its lowered and normally closed position.

As can be appreciated, the tray corresponds in'its function to the spring 28, while the top wall 50 of the tray corresponds in its function to the slidable cap 32 as far as closing off the open upper end of the tubular housing 43. Therefore, in the embodiment of FIGURES 5 and 6, means is provided for housing the pills and means is provided for moving the pills outwardly from such house ing means, while means is provided for closing off the open end of such housing means.

It is to be particularly pointed out that the top wall 50 has an overlapping edge 50a which extends beyond the outer or front side wall 44 of the tubular housing 43, thereby providing a projecting ledge member which can be easily located by a finger or thumb of the user so as to slide the tray into the raised or open position of FIG- URE 6, whereby the pills 49 are presented for easy removal.

In FIGURES 7-10, a further form of the present invention is illustrated, which form also involves the use of a belt buckle as a container for pills- In such a form, the belt buckle 51 has an outermost cross bar 52, which is of tubular construction, that is, being hollow and being formed so. as to house a plurality of pills 53. I The tubular cross bar 52, which constitutes the outer cross bar of the belt buckle 51 is formed so as to serve a dual capacity. In this respect, the belt buckle 51 of the form of FIG- 7lt} is not provided with a tongue but the cross bar 52 is formed on its rearward side with a rearwardly projecting and anguiarly formed finger 54, which is adapted to engage in the apertures of the loose end or free end 55 of the belt. In other respects, the belt buckle 51 is formed in the conventional open loop formation whereby it includes the'conventional top and bottom bars and the inner and outer cross bars, outer cross bar 52 being formed of hollow or tubular formation so as to house the pills 53.

The outer cross bar 52 is formed with an axial slot 56 that is provided in its outer face or outer side, so as to slidably receive the projecting finger 57 of a ftllower member 58, which is or" a cross-sectional shape and configuration so as to be slidably disposed within the interior confines of the cross bar 52 and is provided so as to lift or raise the pills 53 from the tubular cross bar.

The upper end 59 of theftubular cross bar 52 is open a closure or cap member 6i is provided for closing off the open upper end. The closure or cap member 60 is of disc-shape, complemental to the cross sectional configuration of the tubular crossbar 52, and is attached by a pivot pin 61 to the edge of the open upper end, opposite to the slot 56. A finger 62 upstands from the outer surface of the closure member or cap so that the member may be easily rotated about the pivot pin 61 to be swung into an open position, whereupon the follower member 58 may be raised by applying finger pressure to the outwardly projecting finger 57 and thereby dispensing the pills in one-by-one fashion. As is apparent from a consideration of the drawings, the primary aim and purpose of the present invention is to reconstruct a conventional belt buckle, without interfering with the normal function thereof or without adding to the expense thereof, in anundue manner, so that the belt buckle can serve as.a.container or receptacle for pills. This is of particular importancein the use of pills by persons requiring such pills at a sudden moment for their living. Since a belt buckle is a required part of an article of apparel, it is to be appreciated that the belt buckle is always with the person and, therefore, the use of the belt buckle as a pill container necessarily requires that the pills always'be present on the person.

While three forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is obvious that the belt buckle may be otherwise reconstructed so as to serve the primary aim and purpose of the present invention in constituting a receptacle or container for pills. Predominant throughout the illustrated and described forms are the features of reconstructing the belt buckle, without interterin with its normal function and without reconstructing it to the point where it appears unduly diflerent from conventional belt buckles. In addition, the belt buckles present the generic theme of utilizing some cross member, interposed vertically between the top and bottom bars of the belt buckle, as a container or receptacle for the pills and having some means for raising or lifting the pills from such container or receptacle, while also having some means serving as a closure or cap means for the receptacle or container.

Thus, while the preferred and best known forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, other forms may be realized, as come Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed 1s:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a support adapted to be worn at a readily accessible place over the apparel of a person and having a top and a bottom, an elongated multi-Walled housing having a closed bottom and an open top disposed so that the housing extends from the top to the bottom of said support with the closed bottom contiguous to the bottom of said support and the open top contiguous to the top of said support and fixedly attached to said support, a tray having an open front and including a top Wall, a bottom wall, a back, and side walls, insertable into said housing through the open top thereof so that the bottom wall rests against the closed bottom of said housing with the side Walls and bacl; slidably engaging the adjacent walls of said housing and the top Wall closing and seating upon the open top of said housing, the internal area of said tray being such as to support a plurality of medicinal tablets in linear edgeto-edge relation, said tray being operable upon application of an upwardly directed force to the top wall of said tray to be withdrawn out of the open top of said housing to an extent to uncover a portion of the open front of said tray to permit a tablet, when tablets are supported in linear edge-wedge relation within said tray, to discharge out of the uncovered portion of said tray.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a support adapted to be worn at a readily accessible place on the apparel of a person and having top and bottom bars, an

elongated four-walled housing having a closed bottom and an open top disposed so that the housing extends from the top bar to the bottom bar of said support with the closed bottom contiguous to the bottom of said support and the open top contiguous to the top of said support and fixedly attached to said top and bottorn'bars, a tray having an open front and including a top'wall, a bottom wall, a back, and side walls, insertab-le into said housing through the open top thereof so that the bottom wall rests against the closed bottom of said housing with the side walls and back slidably engaging the adjacent walls of said housing and the top wall closing and seating upon hte open top of said housing, the internal area of said tray being such as to support a plurality of medicinal tablets in linear edge-to-edge relation, said tray being operable upon application of an upwardly directed force to the top Wall of said tray to be Withdrawn out of the open top of said housing to an extent to uncover a portion of the open front of said tray to permit a tablet, when tablets are supported in linear edge-to-edge relation within said tray, to discharge out of the uncovered portion of said tray.

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